Although an impressive plant with ornate leaves and showy red-violet flowers, the nodding thistle remains one of the most widespread weeds in temperate climates. Native to Europe and Asia, it grows as a biennial with deep taproot, but in milder climates grows also as a winter annual.

In its first year of growth, the nodding thistle develops a basal rosette of deeply lobed, spiny, dark green leaves. As the plant ages, often in the second year, the rosette sends up a stem lined with more spiny...

This is an eye-catching, useful selection of a sedge native to New Zealand. The slender grassy leaves grow in a wide clump shaped like a fountain. They are blue-green on top, white on the underside, with tips that curl back on themselves and twist to reveal the white side, making the perimeter of the clump look misty. Though it much resembles an ornamental grass, it comes from a different family all together, and like many of its fellow sedges, is more versatile than grasses, being tolerant of both...

This is an eye-catching, useful selection of a sedge native to New Zealand. The slender, arching leaves grow in a clump that is upright in the center and spreading at the edges. They emerge red-brown and mature to a coppery brown, often with bright-orange tips. Though it much resembles an ornamental grass, it comes from a different family of plants, and like many of its fellow sedges, is more versatile than grasses, being tolerant of both full sun and partial sun and moist to almost-wet soils. The...

This is an eye-catching, useful selection of a sedge native to New Zealand. The slender grassy leaves grow in a wide clump shaped like a fountain. They are blue-green on top, white on the underside, with tips that curl back on themselves and twist to reveal the white side, making the perimeter of the clump look misty. Though it much resembles an ornamental grass, it comes from a different family all together, and like many of its fellow sedges, is more versatile than grasses, being tolerant of both...

This sedge from New Zealand’s drier regions grows as a cascading clump of long, slender, curling leaves that are a shimmering silver, blue-green. The tips curl with age, giving it the common name “Frosty Curls. Though it much resembles an ornamental grass, and some catalogs list it as a grass, sedges are a different family all together. Like many of its fellow sedges, is more versatile than grasses, being tolerant of both full sun and partial sun. It is not particular about soil and is drought tolerant....

This native of New Zealand is an outstanding foliage plant. Commonly called leatherleaf sedge, it is an evergreen perennial that forms dense, upright to fountain-shaped clumps of fine, coppery foliage. Sun-loving and tough, it prefers average soil that is well drained but evenly moist. It may be planted in containers or mixed with colorful annuals and perennials in the garden.

This is an eye-catching, useful selection of a sedge native to New Zealand. The long, slender leaves grow in a dense, stiff, upright-to-fanlike clump. They are orange-brown to red-brown, giving the plant a dried look though it is growing actively. Though it much resembles an ornamental grass, it comes from a different family all together, and like many of its fellow sedges, is more versatile than grasses, being tolerant of both full sun and partial sun and moist to almost-wet soils. The tiny flowers...